Convertible draft appliance.



C. D. LONG. CONVERTIBLE DRAFT APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED APRA, 191a.

1,133,981 Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

2 SHEETS*SHEBT 1.

O. D. LONG.

CONVERTIBLE DRAFT APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED ABBA, 191a.

1,135,981 Patehted Mar.30,1915.

2 SHEETS3HEET 2.

CHESTER D. LONG, 0F WINCHESTER, ARKANSAS.

CONVERTIBLE DRAFT APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

Application filed. April 4, 1913. Serial No. 758,919.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHESTER D. LONG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Winchester, in the county of Drew and State of Arkansas, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Convertible Draft Appliances; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates broadly to new and useful improvements in carriages and wagons and has particular reference to draft appliances for vehicles.

The principal object of this invention resides in the provision of a convertible draft appliance in which the thills and pole may be readily and quickly interchanged to permit a double or single team to be driven to the vehicle.

A further object of this invention contemplates the construction of the draft appliance with such regard to proportion, number and arrangement of parts that 1t may be cheaply manufactured, will be efficient and durable in its operation, and will permit the ready replacing of parts in case of breakage.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claim which is appended hereto and forms a part of this application.

With reference to the drawings, wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention as it is reduced to practice, and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts: Figure 1 is a top plan view of the invention as it is used for driving a single team. Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the device ready for use with a double team. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating the method of attaching and bracing the cross bars to the thill and draft iron; and Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of, Fig. 3.

Proceeding now to the description of the drawings, the numerals 1 and 2 designate the draft irons. The draft irons of this invention may be secured to the axle of a vehicle in any suitable manner, and are made in the preferred embodiment of metal piping bent into an arcuate shape in the usual manner. The free ends of the irons 1 and 2 are connected by a cross bar 3, also formed in the preferred embodiment of a length of metal piping, the terminal portions of which are flattened, as in Fig. 6, and are bent to encircle the terminal portion of the members l and 2, being held in secure frictional engagement therewith by means of a bolt or similar fastening device 4:. The cross bar 3 is formed in two sections joined by a T joint 5. The member 6 of the joint 5 is in ternally screw threaded to receive the threaded ends of a pole 7, also made of metal piping. It will be seen that by this connection there is provided an efiective means for readily attaching and detaching the pole and the cross bar 3. A pair of thills 8 and 9 of customary structure and formed of the same material as the pole 1, have an exterior diameter slightly less than the interior diameter of the irons 1 and 2, and are designed to be attached to the irons l and 2 by the insertion of their free ends within the irons. In holding the members 8 and 9 in attached position this invention employs a pair of cotter pins 10 seated in registering bores formed in the members 1 and 2 and terminal portions of the thills 8 and 9, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The members 10 may be provided with finger rings 11 for the obvious purpose of facilitating the insertion and withdrawal of the pins.

As a means for bracing the thills or pole and holding them in desired alinement with the irons 1 and 2, there has been provided a pair of brace rods 12 pivotally connected to the member 3 and approximately midway each section thereof. The rods 12 are each provided with a hook at one end and designed to engage eyes 13 at opposite sides of the pole or upon the inner sides of the thills or shafts 8 and 9. In order to facilitate the conversion of this device from a single to a double team appliance, this invention employs a single draft tree 14, the terminal portions of which are provided with suitable apertures 15 adapted to receive the pivot pins of a pair of swingle trees when the device is employed as a double team appliance. When using the device in connection with a single team, the member 14 serves as a swingle tree. The member 11 is pivotally mounted on the cross bar 3 be ing held in the desired position by won 015 v the-'mem'ber'l l' in spaced relation from-the bar 3. The 1 actual construct-ion ofthe devicebeing thus disclosed-itnow'remains'to emphasize the numerous advantagesres'ult ing from the novel form of structure of this invention. In this connection it is'to be'observed that; by merely threading or, unthreading the pole 7 intothe-soeket'fi and attaching or detaching themembers 8 and 9 tothe irons '1 and 2 inithe manner above described, the device may be quickly" con verted from a double team to asingle'team draft appliance. 'It is desirable also to' dig 'r'ect attention to ,1 the factthatthe pole-7, irons- 1 and 2, thills 8 and 9, and'cross b'ar's 3, and the T joint 5 are all made of ordinary piping which 'feature is believed to be important in view of the fact that the de'vice may beimore cheaply manufactured, and will be? more durable and 'effic ient'in'its operation, than other appliances of the same nature now on the market.

In reduction to practice, I'h'ave' found that the form'of my invention, illustrated in" the Copies; ot'thi's'patent may bvobtained for five cents each, by addressing:the cominissioner'ot ltitentl; V 7

drawings and're'ferred tom the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is themost efiicien't and practical yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with vthe adoption of'my' device will necessarily vary,

I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion'and': arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages' of my'invention', as defined in the appended claim. 7 What is claimed is:

l The hereindescribed convertible draft'appliance forivehicles comprisingv a pair; of

hollow draft irons having .unthreadedends", 7'

a: tubular metal cross bar. comprising two sections connected at their outer ends tothe draft irons and" having their inner ends connectedby a T-coupling, one nipple of of the draft irons and'held therein by cotter i;

pins, andbracespivota'lly connected to the cross bar sections for detachablev connection to' screw'eyes on theshafts 'and pole.

in presence: of two-witnesses;

- Witnesses:

GARLAND PAscHALL, HARRYZEVERSFIELD.

wasmn tomn-cw CHESTER DQLO'NG;

r '60 Intestimonywhereof Iafiizi my signature I 

